Another edition of Metal Gates festival, which kicked off on Thursday, September 25th, at Quantic Club, with a warm-up concert, as let’s call it day 0. I thought I was gonna miss the set of the first band, Vathos (due to traffic), which officially kicked off this year’s edition of Metal Gates Fest. In the end, I managed to catch Vathos‘ set, which warmed up the atmosphere a little, slowly gathering the audience on a windy Thursday. The Romanians surprised with a great set, presenting a new track from the upcoming album as well.
Next up, French act Holls hit the stage with full energy, vocalist Sandra juggling between clean and harsh vocals, and the band itself, 10/10 for their performance. The French act is definitely what I’d like to see again, because they simply impressed me with their amazing set.
Third and fourth bands to hit the stage, Meggera and Roadkillsoda. If previously the atmosphere was a little bit mellow, first, the Brazilians nabbed the stage with their powerful and groovy performance… “We are covering our faces”, that’s their slogan. And second, Roadkillsoda, total madness, total energy. Despite the little technical issues that occurred during their set, Roadkillsoda managed to continue and perform a hell of a set, with heavily fuzzy guitar effects, catchy and powerful vocals, creating a cheerful atmosphere.
Last but not least, Metal Gates’ warm-up, or day 0, closed with Norway’s Funeral, a band which surprised us with a vocal guest, no other than Davide Straccione (Shores of Null), who was invited for this show to lead in, since vocalist Eirik could not attend and perform in Bucharest. Davide’s vocals were just perfect for such an act as Funeral, he’s too good and managed to create this gloomy and dark atmosphere with the Norwegians. With this show, unfortunately, it was also the last one with violinist Sareeta, who announced her departure from Funeral.
Day 1, September 26th, slowly kicked off with the performance by Ritual Roadmap, a groovy, death-energetic set, during which the audience gradually started gathering. Together with them, I was “waking up”, and it got me ready for day 1.
Next to hit the stage was Machiavellian God. I think this is already a tradition, having Machiavellian God on the festival’s line-up every edition. Let’s say they are the host, as the band’s vocalist, Mihu, is the Metal Gates Fest organizer. The Romanians already announced that a new album is on the way, and on this occasion, they were joined on stage by Saor’s Ella Zlotos (on whistle), and of course, Sakis Tolis of Rotting Christ (Tolis performed later that evening), who are both guests on the upcoming album. The new song with the guests mentioned was performed with great haughtiness, the duet of Mihu and Sakis fits just perfectly, and as always, Machiavellian God knows how to capture the audience’s attention with their mesmerizing performance, already well known among the Romanian audience, mainly.
Ponte del Diavolo managed to surprise us as well with a great atmosphere, and surprise, Davide Straccione, whom we saw the previous night performing with Funeral, was invited to perform one track with the Italian act, better said, a cover of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Yes, the festival line-up gathered some Italian acts and fellas altogether this year. Ponte del Diavolo did an intense, darkish, and reckless set. This band is a must-see.
The real madness kicked off with Hideous Divinity, something more aggressive, more extreme, and heavier too. The Italians stormed the stage with full force, with a great presence on stage. Hideous Divinity was, so far, the most energetic band of the festival. Did they nail it? Yes, they did.
Next, Saor, and here I want to say this, despite Saor’s great presence on stage, and knowing how to captivate the audience with a great set, their music is not actually my cup of tea. But seeing them for the first time, it was acceptable. Their music and set is a blend of choirs, with both clean and harsh vocals, with whistle melodies in the background. Who’s into black metal with strong folk elements will definitely enjoy Saor.
As mentioned above, later Sakis Tolis (Rotting Christ, solo) hit the stage within the festival. Well, it cannot be and sound like Rotting Christ, but Tolis’ solo, in my opinion, is more melodic, yet heavy. Since Sakis Tolis is very well-known to the Romanian audience, he knows how to keep it alive, even if he is not playing with Rotting Christ. Sakis Tolis didn’t perform only his solo tracks, but also a few Rotting Christ tracks as well. After all, why not? Let’s say it was both a Sakis Tolis set and a Rotting Christ one too, a 2-in-1 set.
Next up, Krzysztof Drabikowski’s Batushka, or what fans are calling the “true” Batushka. Now, if you ask me, the idea is the same as the ex-Batushka, or the “fake” one (now Patriarkh), a church theme and ritual, dressed in cassocks, but a little different in terms of performance. Their performance and atmosphere felt like a church ritual, with strong black metal elements. I didn’t figure out if they lit incense sticks too, to create the feeling that you were actually in a church… Actually, whoever knows Batushka knows very well how their performances go. I am not really a fan of this version of Batushka. I’ve seen them back in 2017 for the first time, and it was the same, in my opinion.
Day 2, September 27th, kicked off in full force with Winterhorde, quite a nice band that I actually enjoyed, with two vocalists blending clean and aggressive vocals, a great duet, darkly set, amazing band for the second day. For this set, Winterhorde had Vidi Dolev (Subterranean Masquerade) as the second vocalist, who, without any doubt, simply nailed it. Vidi actually fits perfectly with this band.
The Italians from Keres continued the second day in full force, with an aggressive blackened/death metal set, and seeing them for the first time was a good act to witness live. Along with Keres, the audience was slowly gathering more and more.
Tortharry, from the Czech Republic, is another act that captured the stage, with a classic death metal style and sound, enough to keep the audience checked and ready for the rest of the night. Great presence on stage, verbally active with the audience, and moreover, they had their own merch stand tent, which gave the impression that they are somehow an important band. Good for them.
Now UK’s Pantheist, with Fanel on drums, a Romanian, and the soprano, Linda, caught our eyes with her appearance on stage, somehow similar to Marilyn Monroe, blonde, with an elegant white dress. This is my remark about her presence on stage, and of course, the entire band’s performance was pleasant, almost touchy, nostalgic, and beautiful. Pantheist definitely kept the audience thrilled, if not amazed. If you ask me, Pantheist is a must-see band that knows how to capture their audience, without any doubt: dark, melancholic, and gripping.
Saturnus is not new to the Romanian audience. Their set was profound, nostalgic, and the best thing they did was to dedicate part of their set to the memory of the 2015 Colectiv tragedy victims. It felt like mourning together (thanks, Saturnus, for this moment). It was emotional, something that cannot be forgotten, and the audience was there, together with the Danes, in that sombre atmosphere already created all over.
Finally, the band I was looking forward to seeing the most, Arcturus! This band is one of my favorites ever, and it was a dream come true to finally see them live. Man, I simply cannot describe this… ICS Vortex is so expressive and charismatic on stage, and his vibe is speechless. No words to describe how amazing Arcturus were, and hearing all those favorite songs was ace. Not to mention the mesmerizing blasts of Hellhammer, one of the best extreme metal drummers today, and Steinar Sverd behind the keys, twiddling with those elements and melodies he composed, and I wished their set was longer, though, because they are so worth it. Oh, and they mentioned a new album is on the way!
Insomnium, as we know them in their usual formula, delivered a great set, the classic Finnish melo-death. But here and there, the Finns have a few gloomy elements in their music, which indeed fit perfectly with the festival’s line-up. Last time I saw Insomnium, they didn’t impress me much. This time, it felt the same. I don’t know why… maybe it was too late already, or I was too tired. It felt like something was missing from the Finns’ performance. Maybe next time it will be better, and I’ll finally appreciate Insomnium’s set. Or simply, I am not into this Finnish melodic death metal thing (yet).
I wish I could have resisted more to see Thy Legion too from Malta, but it was already too late for me, almost collapsing, but I promise that next time, Thy Legion is what my eyes will see from the beginning to the end, next time I’ll get to see them live. (great guys too to spend time with).
This edition was amazing and worth it. As always, you get to meet old and new faces, bands you had seen before, and not, merch of all kinds, great venue, it was indeed a great time. Looking forward to the next edition, and kudos to Final Step Productions for this well-organized fest!
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